Well, you will go to a higher speed with a 53 teeth chainring, but you will have to put much more effort...

If you were happy with a 52/39, why not stick to a new one??? Another thing to check, is will the length of your chain will fit a 53 teeth chainring, and also is your rear and front derailleur will take a new difference of gearing?

(03-28-2012, 08:25 AM)1FJEF Wrote: I didn't know that 1 tooth would make that much difference on a chain ring.

Adding 1 tooth to a 52 tooth chainring ups the gear ratio by less than 2%. So at the same cadence you would go less than 2% faster and probably have to put out around 2% more effort (due to higher wind resistance). So "more effort"? yes. "much more"? maybe not.

Probably, 2%'s not nothin. But one tooth in the back usually means a much bigger jump. Going from a 20 tooth to a 21 tooth is a 5% change. It's the percentage increase/decrease in size you feel, not the specific number of teeth added.

Well, if you climb on the big chain ring you are a stronger person than I... the compact design is so that you can look like a pro (only two chain rings) but can actually ride uphill instead of pushing the bike. The difference there is 34 in contrast to 39 (or 45 for my old Peugeot), a difference of 12% (or 29%).